The Solid Signal Blog

The Solid Signal Blog is your resource for thousands of articles and reviews, with new content coming every day. 2023 marks our seventeeth year since our humble beginnings, and today over 250,000 people read the blog every month. Every month, the staff gets together and gathers articles that really seem like they have long-term appeal. Here’s the list for September, 2023: Are your Wally and Tailgater having problems with Western Arc lately? Choosing the right lens for your Blackmagic Pocket Cinema camera Can you use a phone charger (or your TV) to power your Gemini Air? Get the real story: How does a splitter work? What is “Eclipse Temurin?” Can you use the DIRECTV Local Channel Connector (LCC) with the H26K Commercial Receiver? Can...

Here’s something you probably didn’t know: your cell phone doesn’t work well unless it’s within about 1.5 miles of a cell tower. In some cases, like high-band 5G, you can lose service in as little as 500 feet. We tend not to think about this because the major carriers have done a great job of covering populated areas with cell towers. But what if you’re in the middle of nowhere? What if you’re out at sea? That’s where Signal Connect comes in There are specialized solutions available for this kind of problem, and they’re not some sort of magic. They’re just simple applications of electrical engineering. But, they’re not always simple to put into place. That’s why an expert like Signal Connect comes in. What can be done about poor...

Call them Spirit duplicators or Ditto machines… if the mention of those words sends you back in time, you’re not alone. If you’re like me, you can actually still smell that duplicating fluid. Ah, there’s nothing like the smell of mimeographs in the morning. Smells like victory. The purple perfection In the days when photocopiers were expensive and finicky, the Ditto or mimeograph ruled supreme. These were simple machines that untrained people could use all day with little fear of breaking anything. Today’s teachers may do a lot online, but back in the 20th century, most teachers spent a lot of their time making copies to distribute to their classrooms. Ditto machines and mimeograph machines made that possible. A Ditto is not a Mimeo...

There was a time when this blog was really focused on TiVos. Look, don’t blame me. I actually started authoring The Solid Signal Blog in 2012. Five years before that, we published this article about the TiVo HD. It was all-new, all-exciting, and all the rage back in the late 2000s. Of course its specs seem puny today, when DIRECTV’s latest DVR gives you 200 hours of HD recording space and when virtually any device out there will let you stream content from Amazon. Still, I have to give “props” to TiVo for its early work here. The TiVo HD was the latest in what was then a very successful line of DVRs from the company. At that time, the word “TiVo” was literally synonymous with DVR, and it was common to hear people say “I’ll TiVo that.”...

I’d like to take one more moment to congratulate the folks at DIRECTV for the speed and efficiency they showed during the satellite outage on February 27, 2024. Yes, some DIRECTV fans were left wondering why this happened at all, or why it couldn’t have been taken care of in minutes, I’m not one of them. To me it’s amazing how much can be done remotely to keep these satellites up and running. Just this morning I read another article about two satellites that came within 66 feet of crashing into each other. What really popped out was the international effort to track literally every satellite in the sky at all times. Let’s remember, DIRECTV restored a large proportion of service to its customers before prime time and all service to all...

Boat owners rejoice: chances are that unless you’re on a long cruise, your satellite receivers will work. There are no hard and fast rules, but generally you will continue to get DIRECTV or DISH satellite TV at least 10 miles offshore. How satellite TV works All satellite TV transmissions are, essentially, spot beams. That is to say, they are designed to focus on the area of the planet where they’re needed. Even the widest beams, known as the “CONUS” beams, are designed so that they closely follow the borders of the United States. This is done on purpose. It’s not that they don’t want international customers, it’s that DIRECTV and DISH would need to get licenses for every country they cover. These licenses only cover the United...

All of a sudden we’ve all become much more aware of privacy on the web. Originally it was some of the news about Facebook and other social media. Then Europe enacted new privacy standards. That caused every web site to up its game. In 2024, we are all expecting Google to get rid of “cookies.” While I think that’s a good move it also creates a lot of uncertainty. It’s actually a good thing that we’re all paying a bit more attention, even though it can lead to some annoying popups like the one above. You’ve probably noticed this “know your location” message on more than one web site, and you might have asked yourself, “why do they need to know?” That’s actually a really good question. They probably don’t need to know… When a web site...

If there ever was a clearer case of “don’t try this at home…” well I haven’t seen it. This story is true. As they used to say in old TV shows, some details have been changed to protect the innocent. I was recently asked if it was ok to run a coaxial cable through a swimming pool. Apparently, this guy wanted to have DIRECTV programming out on the other side of his large backyard, too far for a wireless signal from his Genie 2. The easiest way, he figured, was a straight line. This straight line, apparently, went straight through the pool. Does it seem like you should do this? Coaxial cable is designed to be water-resistant, for sure. The rubber outer jacket should stop water from coming in. Coax cables work in the rain. They work in...

It seems like good internet service is as important as lights or heat these days. What would you do if you lost internet service? How would you even stay in touch with people. Now imagine not having internet at all, or worrying about it getting shut down because you couldn’t afford it. That’s why the federal government created the Affordable Connectivity Program, or ACP. If you or your kids qualify for pretty much any sort of federal aid, you can probably also qualify for a discount on your internet service and a one-time rebate on a new device. It’s a way to make sure you have the connection you need. To me, it seems like a great idea. If you’re asking, “how does our government even function?” The funding for the government’s...

If you have a Genie 2, you know that it generally has two green lights on the front. The top shows the general status of the system. The bottom shows the status of the wireless adapter. For the most part they stay green all the time. What happens if one of them changes color? What should you do? First thing: check out our error code list. This site maintains the most comprehensive listing of error codes and error lights for DIRECTV. You can find it here. You’ll find a list of the lights on your Genie 2 and what they do. A yellow or amber light indicates some sort of signal issue. Before you do anything: are any of your channels affected? An amber light can happen for a lot of reasons. It could mean a temporary signal outage on a...

June 13-19, 1970 This week Ken welcomes legendary bass-man, and all around punk rock royalty, Mr. Mike Watt to the show. Ken and Mike discuss San Pedro, first meeting D. Boon, moving to San Pedro in 1967 from Navy Housing, living in the projects, saying no to Alameda, George being from Brocton, strong accents, how all the Minutemen were transplants to San Pedro, D. Boon’s mom, how trippy the Summer of 1970 was, Blue Oyster Cult, UHF stations, Wild Wild West, Star Trek, Mission Impossible, not having a color TV, how The Prisoner is Mike’s favorite show, MAS*H, All in the Family, D. Boon’s love of Johnny Carson because his dad was from Nebraska, WWII movies, T. Rex, local horror hosts, the origin of “D.” in D. Boom, Steve McQueen...

See if this sounds familiar to you: That’s a message from a customer after they got a new Gemini Air. People love the Gemini Air because it’s small and simple and has a real remote with easy-to-understand buttons. But every so often we get someone who complains about the Wi-Fi performance. Unlike other streaming devices, Gemini Air doesn’t have the ability to connect over wired Ethernet, so if your Wi-Fi doesn’t work with it then the device doesn’t work period. So what can you do? One thing you can do to test The easiest way to be sure there’s nothing wrong with your Gemini Air is to temporarily move it into the same room as your Wi-Fi router. If there isn’t a TV in that room, move the Gemini Air to a TV that’s as close to the...

DIRECTV’s Gemini Air has been one of the company’s best and most successful product launches. Folks just love the small size, voice-activated remote, and the ability to run DIRECTV’s internet streaming service alongside all the most popular apps. Personally I’m impressed by how easy it is to use and how it runs on USB-C power. The Gemini Air has gotten so popular that even home theater enthusiasts are getting interested in it. And that’s led to the question at the top of this article. Real quick, what is “Dolby Audio” anyway? When TV first started, all the sound was mono. In the 1980s, stereo was added. But that was just the beginning. Dolby Labs, a tech company that’s been around since the mid-20th century, has made it a mission to...

If you’re a DIRECTV satellite customer, you probably covet the Gemini Air. It’s an owned device, meaning no monthly mirroring fees. It’s the smallest DIRECTV device ever. It’s small enough to hide behind the TV. But, it’s designed specifically for the DIRECTV streaming service. It can’t be used as a Genie client. One question we keep getting People who call us tell us that they understand that the Gemini Air can’t be used in a DIRECTV satellite system. But, they also point out that if you use the DIRECTV app on a streaming device, you can sign in with your DIRECTV satellite credentials and use that app almost like a Genie client. So, people ask — can you use the DIRECTV app on a Gemini Air, sign in with your satellite credentials...

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